In the aftermath of the American Civil War, former soldier Johnny Hawk (Kirk Douglas) – a man famed for fighting Native Americans – is hired to escort a wagon train across Oregon. His mission runs foul of a local Sioux … Continue reading REVIEW: The Indian Fighter (1955)
Retired gunfighter Steve Sinclair (Robert Taylor) is content to spend his time operating a cattle ranch. When his hot-headed younger brother Tony (John Cassavettes) returns home with a new gun and a new fiancee (Julie London), it can only spell … Continue reading REVIEW: Saddle the Wind (1958)
A university graduate (John Wayne) rides out to Canada in search of a missing girl, only to stumble into a mess involving card cheats, a hidden gold mine, and a criminal gang in Robert N. Bradbury’s 1934 western The Trail Beyond. … Continue reading REVIEW: The Trail Beyond (1934)
While rarely hitting the commercial heights of pre-1970s Hollywood, the western has nonetheless continued to chart a long-running course of well-liked, entertaining films and television dramas well into the 21st century. The mythologised ‘Old West’ remains an evocative setting for … Continue reading REVIEW: Bone Tomahawk (2015)
There is always a distinct challenge in reviewing classic cinema: titles that were widely and enthusiastically feted literally decades before half of us were born. What, after so long, is there for anyone to write or say? The late John … Continue reading REVIEW: My Darling Clementine (1946)
Fritz Lang is renowned as one of the great directors of early German cinema, making 17 features from 1919 to 1933. Some of these films are the most famous of their time, including the likes of Metropolis (1927), Woman in the Moon (1929), M (1931), … Continue reading REVIEW: Western Union (1941)
An isolated mining town hires a mysterious stranger to defend them from three approaching outlaws, only to get much more than they bargained for, in Clint Eastwood’s 1973 western High Plains Drifter. It is no surprise that Eastwood would make a … Continue reading REVIEW: High Plains Drifter (1973)
Mention the American western, and a number of names immediately spring to mind. One of them absolutely has to be Sam Peckinpah, the hugely talented director who jumped from writing and directing for television to a series of turbulently-made but … Continue reading REVIEW: Ride the High Country (1962)
Australian cinema has tackled the experience of its Aboriginal peoples for many decades, however in recent years there has been a particular increase in such films – as well as a commensurate improvement in quality. There have been excellent films … Continue reading REVIEW: High Ground (2020)
A man returns to his childhood home only to find it overrun by a criminal gang, in Michael Matthews’ bleak South African neo-western Five Fingers for Marseilles (2017). As a child, Tau’s fiercely protective attitude to his best friends leads … Continue reading REVIEW: Five Fingers for Marseilles (2017)
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